Key to Success

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MERobinson

Member
Joined
Jul 6, 2008
Messages
1
Location
Terre Haute, IN, USA.
I am fairly new at all of this, I look at the pens that some of you
have made and am honestly in awe by some of the artistry. I am proud
of some of the ones that I have made, but I have a long way to go. I
was wondering what some of you experts, would say is the most
important things to be successful pen-turners. What things would you
tell and show your son when teaching them the artistry that you know
and love. What are your favorite techniques, tools, machines,
materials?
 
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The 2 most important things, IMHO, are fit and finish. You can be the most creative person that ever existed but if the fit is off and the finish sucks, nobody will be interested. Learn to put a good finish on your wood pens, whether it's CA, lacquer, or Enduro. And make sure the wood and the metal part mate properly. Use calipers when you turn. It's OK if the material is bigger by up to 0.003", but not more because then people can feel the difference in diameter.
 
I second what Steve and Gerry said .
As for tools , the main tool I use is my Skew and I keep it Scary Sharp , you can save countless hours of sanding if you can use a skew well and it makes hard to turn materials like Acrylic ,Tru-Stone and blowout prone woods alot less trouble .
Also learn to sharpen your tools too , a sharp tool cuts the material and a dull toll tears it out .
The most important thing is Time , pratice on slimlines or cigars with domestic woods first to save some money and gain experience
 
Originally posted by MERobinson

I
was wondering what some of you experts, would say is the most
important things to be successful pen-turners. What things would you
tell and show your son when teaching them the artistry that you know
and love. What are your favorite techniques, tools, machines,
materials?


I'm no expert, but someone here has a signature line that says "innovate or stagnate". Good words.


Next in line would be Winston Churchill's admonition to "never, never, never, never, never give up!".

Lastly, don't let it get to the point that it's drudgery. Lay down the tools and turn off the lathe if you start getting bored or irritated, have a soda, go fishing, and come back later.
 
I'm still a novice but I agree with the above. The biggest improvements in the beginning come from excellent fit and finish. I keep getting better at both and my pens keep getting better as well.

Don't let any part of it frustrate you. I really struggled with the CA finish so I often just "walked away" from it. I did something else. I finished a pen with friction polish. I made a new style pen. Then when I cam back to try the CA again I was ready to take on the challenge.

Keep it fun!
 
I agree with those who said "fit and finish", and will add that the most important ingredient to a good fit and finish is PATIENCE. These things take time to get it right. Don't get in a hurry. Speed in not important. Nobody cares who has the fastest pen.
 
Become a perfectionist! You won't make a perfect pen, but you will darn well make sure that your fit is spot on and that your finish is even and pleasing to the eye. You will also want a finish that is durable and will stand up to the oils of the writter's hands as well as everyday use.

Mike
 
I came here a novice pen turner, with a number of good pens under my belt. The knowledge collected (and shared) here is amazing, it can also be overwhelming.

My advice would be this:

Don't try to do much at once. Concentrate on one thing, and get it down. Finish is a good one to work on. You can take a pretty boring looking wood and punch it up substantially if your finish is amazing. I spent about 5 pens working on my finishing, and I've got a pretty good system down, but I still need to work on it some more, now that I am adding one more layer of complexity to it (thin CA sealer).

Other random tips:
- Try the Baron, awesome pen kit.
- Segmenting is fun, and you can use up all those scraps of wood you saved because it was cool looking.
- Wear at least a dust mask.
- Sharpen your tools often.
- Be sure to have music playing while turning, it helps calm you.
- Check out the library for lots of great tutorials.

That's all I got, I think I need more caffeine.

badger

p.s. oh yeah, one more... Don't turn tired, it's just a bad idea. All my major screw ups happened when I tried to force myself to turn when tired.
 
Well, I'll jump in about now and bring up the subject of safety and health. Be darned sure that you are careful with the use of the lathe ... it can grab you and really get you good. There have been many pictures posted here on the Forum to show what happens when one is careless/tired/unsure/etc.

Your health is important. Many of our favorite woods are reasonably benign when admired, BUT, start turning them and their dust can - and is - quite often something you just don't want to breath. Again, use caution and always use more than adequate ventilation and dust control.

Sharp tools are a must. Just like it has already been stated above. Be sure to take the time to sharpen your tools properly. A few minutes at your sharpener is worth hours in the long run. A 'scary sharp' skew used properly will definitely cut your finishing time way down. A dull tool will catch your wood and ruin all your efforts.

Be comfortable at the lathe. Don't wear loose fitting clothing as it can get caught and cause you much suffering. Just use an over abundance of good sense when working with all power tools. Like Norm always says, "There isn't anything more important than wearing these safety glasses." ALWAYS wear eye/face protection as your eyes are more important to you than most other body parts. Cuts and scrapes will heal, eventually, but the eyes just don't seem to always recover. Besides all this preaching ... It just is easier to take an extra second to protect yourself than it is to take days or weeks or months to get healed. It also is quite a bit less expensive to be careful.

Respect your equipment and know and understand how it works prior to getting in front of it and throwing the switch. All of us here on the Forum have done crazy stuff and many wear the scars of battle from our mistakes, some more so than others. Safety, knowledge, education, understanding are all key words to remember when using any piece of equipment.

I like to ask anyone that comes into my meager shop and wants to make something to be sure that they have a plan in mind and have all the steps worked out prior to starting a project. Sure, plans change but at least they don't have to be made up as the work progresses. Shop time is good relaxing work, but it also is fun ... otherwise we wouldn't be where we are today as many of these good folks here show with their finished projects.

OK, someone else get on the soapbox and 'preach' a bit. I gotta go turn something expensive and big into worthless and even more expensive sawdust. But first I gotta take a little bit of time and sharpen my tools a bit. ;)
 
Originally posted by Fred_erick

Well, I'll jump in about now and bring up the subject of safety and health. Be darned sure that you are careful with the use of the lathe ... it can grab you and really get you good.



Yes, indeed!!! Move the friggin tool rest when you are sanding! I know one bozo who will remain nameless;) that learned that lesson (and a good lesson about the wood/skin coefficient of friction) a couple years ago that still goes through my, uh, his mind when I sand every pen[B)][B)][B)][B)][B)][B)][B)][B)][B)][B)][B)]
 
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